Teen
sniper Lee Boyd Malvo sentenced to life
in prison
CHESAPEAKE, Va. (AP) -- Lee Boyd Malvo,
the young man who teamed up with John Allen
Muhammad to terrorize the Washington area
in a sniper spree that left 10 people dead,
was formally sentenced Wednesday to life
in prison without parole.
Malvo,
19, was sentenced a day after Muhammad was
given the death penalty by a judge in nearby
Prince William County. The judge in Muhammad's
case could have reduced the sentence to
life in prison, but Malvo's judge had no
other option than life without parole, which
the jury recommended.
Malvo,
wearing a gray sweater, light blue shirt
and dark trousers, did not speak during
the 10-minute hearing, following the advice
of his lawyers who did not want his words
used against him in future prosecutions.
Prosecutor
Paul Ebert, who led the case against Muhammad
and is next in line to try Malvo, said he
would wait until the U.S. Supreme Court
rules on whether juveniles may be executed.
A decision is expected next year.
Malvo
was 17 when he killed FBI analyst Linda
Franklin, 47, outside a Falls Church Home
Depot store.
''If
the Supreme Court rules that the death penalty
is still available to juveniles, I will
try Mr. Malvo and very likely seek the death
penalty,'' Ebert said. He added that a trial
would not take place until next year, at
the earliest.
Robert
F. Horan Jr., who led the prosecution of
Malvo, said after sentencing that he plans
to try Muhammad in the killing of Franklin.
He said the trial could take place by the
end of the summer.
Muhammad's
attorneys are appealing his conviction in
the Oct. 9, 2002, killing of Dean Harold
Meyers, and Horan said another conviction
would serve as a backup if the first one
is reversed.
Malvo's
attorneys argued during the trial that the
teenager was legally insane because he was
brainwashed by Muhammad, whom he considered
his father. Jurors have said that while
they did not believe Malvo was insane, they
thought Muhammad had influenced him.
Defense
lawyer Craig Cooley reiterated Wednesday
that Muhammad was an influence.
''We
do not believe anyone could have observed
the evidence ... and believed Lee Malvo
would be here except for the influence of
John Muhammad,'' Cooley said.
Several
family members of victims expressed unhappiness
with the life sentence.
''They
committed the crimes together. They together
should get the death penalty,'' said Kwang
Im Szuszka, sister of Hong Im Ballenger,
who was shot in Baton Rouge, La., in the
weeks before the Washington sniper spree.
Muhammad and Malvo have been charged in
her death.
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